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 63rd BS Nov 20, 1943  13th AF c1942-43 |
Location Lat 22° 0' 53S Long 166° 12' 47E Tontouta Airfield is located at an elevation of 52' above sea level in the municipality of Païta roughly 52 km northwest of Nouméa on New Caledonia. Pronounced "La Ton-Two-Ta". Still in use today as La Tontouta International Airport or Nouméa - La Tontouta International Airport or in French Aéroport de Nouméa - La Tontouta. Construction Built prewar by the French. By 1942, the single runway was 5,000'. Wartime History Starting in early 1942, used by the U.S. fighters, bombers and transports. Tontouta Airfield was a refueling stop for aircraft flying the ferry route from Hawaii bound for Australia or vice versa. Also, for planes flying northeast to the New Hebrides (Vanuatu) or northward to the Solomon Islands. In March 1943, Americans made a major expansion of Tontuta Airfield to create a major air base to support American operations. By the middle of 1943, U.S. Army Air Force Service Command Unit and the 13th Air Depot (13th AD) were based at Tontouta Airfield. American units based at Tontouta U.S. Army Air Force (USAAF) 347th FG 67th FS (P-39) February 27, 42 - April 24, 43 to Kila and Milne Bay 403rd TCG, 13th TCS (C-47) arrives November 2, 1943 departs Espirtu Santo 403rd TCG, 64th TCS (C-47) ?–August 7, 1943 departs Espirtu Santo USAAF Service Command 13th Air Depot (13th AD) United States Navy (USN) VB-3 (SBD) USS Saratoga (CV-3) arrives December 5, 1942–January 21, 1943 departs USS Saratoga (CV-3) returns February 15, 1943–July 31, 1943 departs HMS Victorious (R28) United States Marine Corps (USMC) VMF-212 (F4F) May 11, 1942 - July 2, 42 Efate Marine Aircraft Group 25 (MAG-25), Headquarters (C-47) - 1944 Roy Wooten adds: "I was drafted May 25, 1942. I spent approximately two years at Tontouta Airfield. I have no idea what date we arrived but I was a high speed radio operator for the radio (cw) station WYVC, which was the headquarters for the 179 Air Squadron, of the AACS, which was the Army Airways Communication Squadron, of COMSOPAC. I have no concrete dates except in December, 1945 we received orders to report to Nouméa to be sent back to the States to be discharged. I was a radio operator at the headquarters of the 179th air squadron of COMSOPAC. I certainly know when I left , it was the first part of December, 1945, we received orders to report to Nouméa to be sent back to the States to be discharged." Postwar After World War II, used the French military as New Caledonia Air Force Base and was used by Aeronavale (French Naval Aviation units including Escadrille 9S flying transport and patrol aircraft including Avro Lancaster bombers into the late 1960s and C-54E 44-9148 until it crashed on January 21, 1982. Today Still in use today as La Tontouta International Airport or Nouméa - La Tontouta International Airport (In French: Aéroport de Nouméa - La Tontouta). Used as a civilian airport. The single runway is orientated 29/11 measures 10,663' x 148' surfaced with asphalt. Airport codes: ICAO: NWWW IATA: NOU. It is the main international airport on New Caledonia, serving the city of Nouméa. During 2006, 415,813 passengers used the airport. B-17E "Fiji Foo" Serial Number 41-9217 Crash landed October 27, 1943 C-53E Skymaster Serial Number 44-9148 Pilot Celton crashed January 21, 1982 References Aéroport de Nouméa - La Tontouta via Wayback Machine March 9, 2016 Contribute
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